Principal of Seattle high school steps down after abuse accusation

SEATTLE -- A member of the Christian Brothers religious order who served as principal at a Seattle high school has resigned after being accused of sexually abusing a minor elsewhere in the early 1970s.

Walczak denies the allegations, according to statements released Wednesday by the archdiocese and posted on the school's website.

Archdiocese spokesman Greg Magnoni said he understood there was one person alleging multiple instances of abuse. Magnoni said he did not know the site of the alleged abuse.

In a statement on the O'Dea website, school board Chairman Zachary Lell said the board learned of the accusation Wednesday. O'Dea administrators reported last August that Walczak had been called back by the Christian Brothers to assist in resolving a claim filed in the Christian Brothers Institute bankruptcy proceeding.

John Shuster, Seattle co-director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) accused O'Dea and the archdiocese of a cover-up and told reporters Wednesday night that more should have been made public in August.

However, Magnoni said the information provided in August was "completely accurate" and was the only information the Christian Brothers could provide under federal bankruptcy confidentiality rules.

He said archdiocesan lawyers had been working to discern and publicly release any information that Walczak had been accused of sexual abuse. The bankruptcy judge directed them to contact all parties involved and get their permission to release the information, a task that was completed Wednesday, Magnoni said.

Walczak was appointed principal at O'Dea in 2011, according to the school's website. He had worked in various positions at several Christian Brothers schools in Illinois, California and Hawaii.